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--- Chapter 142 ---
Liu Erlong and Ning Fengyuan stared at Han Yuan with bright eyes as he appeared more dashing tonight. Even though they knew Han Yuan would wear something more appropriate for such a big event, the grey martial robe and fur coat suited him well.
At the same time, they were also helpless. They'd have never thought that Han Yuan would show off immediately. While this show-off was effective, it made many people stare at them more greedily.
Liu Erlong spoke to Ning Fengyuan with her spiritual power, 'Heh, these fools probably thought they could mimic Xiao Yuan's abnormal spirit ring configurations if they had Mystic Water Pills, Holy Abyss Pills, and Foundation Building Liquids at the start of their cultivations.'
'Yeah, I can see it in their eyes. Unfortunately for them, Xiao Yuan's real spirit ring configuration is much more abnormal than this. They couldn't even see a fraction of his achievement.' Ning Fengyuan agreed with Liu Erlong and chuckled at these people's delusions.
Well, it's more like Han Yuan was giving them false hope. Yes, complete yet trustable misdirection.
Han Yuan glanced at Ning Fengyuan, and she understood it was her part next.
Ning Fengyuan cleared her throat and tapped her mic, "Since we already had Xiao Yuan here, let's start the first event. Dao Discussion!"
"Everyone may ask questions."
"Xiao Yuan Yuan will answer it in two minutes if no one wants to answer."
"Also, depending on how complex your question is, the point will be one or more."
"Now, let's see who the lucky first person is..." She added playfully as the seats in the venue lit up slightly, shining with purple light as it randomly appeared from one seat to another.
Everyone observed the surrounding venue, hoping to get the first chance to ask a question.
Surprisingly enough, the lucky person is none other than a female student from a lowkey advanced academy called Red Shine Academy.
Soon, the light focused on the nervous female student.
"Um, what should I do..." She looked like she was about to cry.
The mentor behind her whispered, "Ke Han, calm down. Ask something we needed to know, like how he absorbed older spirit rings..."
Ke Han calmed down as her teacher instructed and fidgeted again as she didn't think her voice would reach the other side of the venue. Thankfully, a mic appeared on her seat's armrest, followed by four screens that showcased her to all four sides of the venue.
She grabbed the mic and muttered, "U-Um, hello."
"My name is Ke Han. I'm a student from Red Shine Academy. I'm also a level 27 Spirit Grandmaster with a Rose martial soul, focused on a control system."
"Um, I'm fifteen this year."
"Shy one, I see." Ning Fengyuan nodded. "Well, Student Ke, what question do you have for us?"
Ke Han glanced at her teacher and asked, "I want to know how to absorb an older spirit ring, if possible, in the way that applies to all spirit masters."
"Is there anyone who wants to answer Student Ke's question?" Ning Fengyuan smiled at everyone.
Unfortunately, no one wanted to answer this question. These people are here for Dao Academy, after all.
Ning Fengyuan wasn't disappointed. She, Liu Erlong, and Han Yuan had expected this to happen.
Han Yuan shook his head gently and asked for Liu Erlong's mic, which she tossed over casually.
He caught the mic and said calmly, "Since no one wanted to answer her question, I will answer it."
Surprisingly enough, Han Yuan's calm yet electric voice sent shivers to many females in the area. They didn't expect this handsome young man's voice to be so charming.
Even then, Han Yuan didn't care much. These people look like a bunch of potatoes right now.
"To absorb an older spirit ring, a spirit master must fulfill three conditions: body, mind, and spirit. The last one is 'usually' overlooked."
"Body is pretty self-explanatory. The stronger your physique is, the older the spirit ring you can endure. That's why the more we progress in our cultivation, the older spirit rings we can absorb."
"Of course, we shouldn't forget that the spirit master with tool spirit will have a weaker physique and result when training their body compared to the spirit master with a beast spirit."
"Honestly, this is common knowledge because spirit masters don't waste the golden age of cultivation to train physique and focus more on their spirit power."
"In fact, some clans and sects use medicinal baths to train their clansmen."
"Our academy also did the same. We gave the Foundation Building Liquid to salvage the limited golden age of spirit master, but this doesn't mean we slack on our physical training."
"Then, mind. A 10,000-year-old spirit ring possessed something called "Soul Shock," a resentment and last attack against their killer, spirit master."
"This Soul Shock was fatal because most spirit masters didn't develop their mind or spiritual power until they reached Spirit King Realm, though there are some rare cases."
"That's why one normally absorbs a 10,000-year-old spirit ring at a half-step Spirit King Realm or even Spirit Emperor Realm."
"Lastly, spirit. A martial soul or spirit is a miraculous marvel, a double coexistence with yourself, so it was like a mirror image of your talent and inheritance."
"So, choosing the most suitable spirit ring is a must for your spirit ring. I'm sure everyone here has heard about the new classification of martial souls and origins."
"Using that as a reference, a martial soul like Shovel shouldn't have an innate spirit power, but if it did, what spirit ring would you choose?"
"My answer is a spirit beast with earth or metal elements, enhancing its toughness and sharpness, possibly turning the Shovel from a simple tool to a spear. Specific qualities like horns, talons, or claws will also enhance the Shovel's attributes."
"A martial soul with obvious attributes like fire and wind elements should choose a spirit beast with matching elements."
"A plant martial soul should absorb a spirit ring from plant spirit beasts unless the animal spirit beast possesses similar traits or has a symbiotic relationship with the martial soul, though this applied vice versa to beast spirit, too."
"A weapon martial soul with no attribute like Shovel can start obtaining attributes from an elemental spirit beast, but will it be a smooth process when absorbing it?"
"No, because there is a matter of compatibility."
"Ask yourself. Have you ever experienced difficulty absorbing your spirit ring, as if you're forcing something into your body?"
"If yes, congratulations, your spirit ring was not the most compatible with your spirit ring and may lose some of its origins."
Everyone in the venue grimaced. Many students and even mentors here have experienced what Han Yuan stated.
Han Yuan continued, "The more compatible the spirit ring is, the smoother it is when absorbing it. This crucial fact allowed me to lessen the pressure of absorbing older spirit rings, especially when I attempted to absorb 10,000-year-old ones."
"I have answered your question. Since you're the first one, I will give your academy two points."
Ke Han was stunned by Han Yuan's answer. She blushed before replying shyly, "T-Thank you."
Han Yuan nodded, "Who is next?"
Ning Fengyuan snapped her finger, and a lucky audience got picked to ask a question.
It was a male student from Thunderclap Academy, one of the five major academies in Heaven Dou Empire. This academy is backed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the captain of this academy's team is one of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's twin stars, Yu Tianxin.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Yu Tianxin who could ask a question.
The male student stood up and grabbed the mic, "My name is Lei Dong from the Thunderclap Academy. My martial soul is Thunder Spider, level 33 Spirit Elder, focused on the control system."
"I want to ask... What is the best method to train one's mind and make it strong enough to handle a 10,000-year-old spirit ring."
Han Yuan raised his eyebrow slightly before saying, "Anyone?"
"Me, again, huh?"
"Whatever."
"It's more like a Q & A than a discussion now."
"The easiest way to train one's mind is meditation." Han Yuan answered casually. "The deeper your meditation is, the more in touch you are with your mind."
"You can also try experiencing life and death battles. Those experiences will temper your mind rapidly."
"Of course, you can just absorb a head spirit bone or spirit ring with spiritual attributes."
"That's it, next!"
"..." Everyone.
Wait, why did you answer so shortly?
You answered in more detail earlier!
Liu Erlong and Ning Fengyuan facepalmed. 'Ah, Xiao Yuan was annoyed already, and we are just getting started.'
Lei Dong was speechless, "Err, do you have any advice? Since you have absorbed two 10,000-year-old spirit rings, I'm sure you have experience, right?"
"So are your elders." Han Yuan retorted.
"You can ask them instead!"
"Once again, this is a Dao Discussion, not a Q&A!"
"You only got one point for a lousy question..." He indifferently scoffed.
With that, the second question ended abruptly.
On the other side of the venue, Ke Han couldn't help but feel better because her question gave her academy two points.
"NEXT!"
The purple light flickered in the venue before stopping at Hu Liena's seat, shocking Han Yuan and the rest of the audience.
"Me?" Hu Liena pointed at herself in awe.
The next one is actually Spirit Hall!